WAR IN UKRAINE: May 5, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 70
Land forces in Belarus have been observed deploying to the field for apparent land exercises, says the UK Defense Ministry in its daily intelligence update. It says movements will likely be staged to distract Ukrainian forces to the north.
As a result of the night missile strike on Kramatorsk, at least 25 people were injured, six of them need help in the hospital - the head of OVA Kirilenko. He said the missiles had damaged nine homes, a school and infrastructure (photo above). Kramatorsk in the northern end of the Donbas is a key regional hub and operational base for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Over 300 civilians arrived in Zaporizhzhia on 4 May from Mariupol and surrounding areas following a new safe passage operation coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the parties to the conflict, and the United Nations. On Tuesday, several dozen civilians left the Azovstal plant area in Mariupol and reached Zaporizhzha during a five-day safe passage operation, the ICRC said in a press release
The Ukrainian commander leading troops holed up in a steel plant in Mariupol says "difficult, bloody battles" are being fought. The Azovstal steelworks is the last stronghold of resistance in Mariupol, and taking the southern port city is a key goal for Russia. A three-day ceasefire, announced by Russia, is due to begin on Thursday to allow an estimated 200 civilians to flee the area. But Ukraine has previously accused Russian forces of continuing attacks after announcing ceasefires - BBC
Russian forces reportedly entered the Azovstal Steel Plant – rather than its outskirts – for the first time on May 4. The extent of this Russian advance remains unclear, and Russian forces likely face further costly fighting if they intend to clear the entire facility, said the UK’s Institute for the Study of War in its daily assessment from yesterday.
The Ukrainian Parliament has passed new legislation allowing members of the Territorial Defense Forces to fight outside of their own oblasts. While the details of the legislation are yet to be made public it will allow for TDF members in peaceful areas to support Ukrainian Armed Forces troops closer to the frontlines.
Most regions of Ukraine were under air raid siren alerts last night and into this morning. Residents of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv were alerted no less than four times between 20:00 local time Wednesday to 10:10am Thursday. The city was struck by several Russian cruise missiles on Tuesday evening, severely damaging railway and power infrastructure. The Lviv power station was among six railway facilities in central and western Ukraine targeted by Russian forces on Tuesday evening, according to the chairman of Ukrainian Railways Olexander Kamyshin.
Lviv mayor plans to nationalize Russian-owned bus plant. The Lviv Bus Plant, also known as LAZ, is controlled by the brothers Oleg and Igor Churkin. Mayor Andriy Sadovy aims to attract Western investors to produce electric vehicles at the site of the plant. In total, the city has some 80 businesses fully or partially owned by Russians. All these businesses should be nationalized, Sadovy said - The Kyiv Independent